Carney

FACTS

In February 2019, Keith Murphy came to Central Coast Behavioral Health, Inc. (Central Coast) seeking treatment for depression, anxiety, and insomnia. He was not seeking treatment for drug addiction. In fact, he denied current use of illegal drugs or marijuana. Murphy was treated by nurse practitioner, Suzan Williams. Pedro Guimaraes, an employee of Central Coast, was

1 Williams’s supervising physician. Williams gave Murphy prescriptions for Cymbalta, Seroquel and Clonazepam. On August 11, 2019, Murphy was found dead on the floor of his apartment. The San Luis Obispo County Medical Examiner concluded Murphy died from ingesting cocaine, methamphetamine, and heroin. None of those drugs had been prescribed for Murphy. The medications prescribed by Williams were not found in Murphy’s system. Murphy’s mother Lupe Carney, and father, Keith Murphy, Sr. (collectively Carney), sued Central Coast, Guimaraes and Williams for wrongful death based on medical negligence. The complaint alleged that Williams was negligent in prescribing Clonazepam without close monitoring to someone who has a history of abusing illegal drugs because there is a foreseeable risk of relapsing into illegal…